I've been ticked at Riggs since Sunday afternoon. As a result, I have completely stopped my usual chatter with him. Like most people, I have running conversations with my dog. I have only been talking to him when I tell him to do something and when I praise him for doing it.

All of a sudden his obedience is 10 times better.

Michelle

Inside me is a thin woman trying to get out. I usually shut the bitch up with a martini.

Greg constantly gets on my case about "reasoning" with my dogs...and my version of reasoning: "Sacha, why can't you just sit? I don't understand why you do this stuff one second, and ignore me the next...I mean, you know this stuff." Of course, I get a blank stare back from her....

When I cut out the "talking" she's so much better....

I also tend to talk to my dogs alot in baby voice etc....it's really pathetic...

I have cut out using their names in front of their commands except at home. When I'm working them at training, I'm only working one at a time...so, they darn well better know which one I'm talking to....

At home, I always use names first...so they know which one is supposed to do what...not that it works...but, in theory....

I don't correct for obeying to the wrong word as long as it's not the dog I was talking to...for example, if I tell Nisha to "auf" (down), but don't say her name first, and sacha lays down, well, that's fine, she can lay down...I don't correct her. If nisha fails to lay down, she gets corrected "Pfooey, auf."

I use the names if I want, for example, Sacha to stay, but Nisha to come with me....

Wally only speaks English as far as I know. I barely speak English so I wouldn't be able to train him in a different language.

Michelle, like you I also whisper my commands to Wally. My "sit" sounds more like "sst" very quietly. If I give the command any sort of tone he will tune me out.

But with Halo if I DON'T bark them he'll do whatever he damn well pleases. His obedience is pretty badly mucked up from previous inconsistent training, so once I'm able to walk again (been laid up for almost 3 weeks now . . . again . . . annoying) he'll be getting hardcore basic obedience lessons and I hope to one day be able to use quiet commands with him also. But his road will be longer than it was with Wally because I have to go back and redo all of the training that he had previous to me to be able to do it correctly.

My friend had a seiziure service dog, a Greyhound actually, who was trained all on hand commands because when she was going into a seiziure she would lose her voice first but would still be able to give commands via her right side for another 10 seconds. He was by far the most AMAZING dog I have ever met. He was 100 pounds of pure white Greyhound (not an ounce of fat on him . . .he was MASSIVE . . . for a size comparison Wally is only 73.2 and 29" tall, he's a big dog), who defied everything that a Greyhound was supposed to be (aloof, difficult to train, never allowed to be offleash, etc). He gave this woman the ability to live alone and be able to keep her freedom. I can't even tell you how heartbreaking it was when she lost him to cancer. I think that all dogs and trainers could have learned a lot from watching Finn work. His work ethic was always on, and second to none. Purely amazing.

"All changes, even the most longed for, have their melancholy; for what we leave behind us is a part of ourselves; we must die to one life before we can enter another." -Anatole France

Aside from Greg (my main trainer) and I, I don't want anyone being able to use their "competition" commands....

One thing that we do at the other place I train at is when they are doing bitework, the decoy will say their commands to them...and if they listen, they get corrected....it's to teach them that they should only listen to you....

It's funny...Sacha will, for the most part, listen to anyone who gives a house command...if you give a competition command, she won't listen...you need to prove (give a good correction) that she should listen to you....

Nisha, on the other hand, will really not obey anyone but Greg or me...no matter whether it is house or competition....